This invention relates to the provision of alternatives to the use of nitrites in curing and flavouring meat.
Traditionally, "salting" was used for preservation of meat, and it is understood that the presence of nitrate impurities in the crude sodium chloride employed were responsible for meat curing. As time progressed, mixtures of salt, saltpeter (nitrate), sugar, etc., were used for the purpose of preserving, flavouring and colouring meat. Later it became known that nitrate, through the action of bacteria, was reduced to nitrite in curing processes. However, it was not until 1925 that regulations permitted the use of sodium nitrite as such in curing meat products.
Current meat curing practice involves the addition of nitrite, and sometimes nitrate, as well as salt, sugar, reductants, phosphates and possibly seasonings, to the meat. Sodium nitrite is undoubtedly a unique ingredient of the curing mixture due to its multiple function. It produces the characteristic cooked cured-meat colour and contributes to the typical flavour of cured-meat products. Nitrite with its potent antioxidant properties eliminates the problem of warmed-over flavours (WOF) and odours. Most importantly, it has a strong antimicrobial effect in retarding the formation of Clostridium botulinum toxin. Recently, nitrite has become the source of serious concerns. Nitrite may react with amines and amino acids present in meats, leading to the formation of carcinogenic nitrosamines, such as N-nitrosopyrrolidine and N-nitrosodimethylamine. The residual nitrite present in cured meat increases the total body burden of nitrite and may lead to the formation of nitrosamines in the stomach.
K. R. Bharucha et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,966,974, are concerned with replacing sodium nitrite with organic nitrites, and K. R. Bharucha and his co-workers, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,039,690, 4,076,849, 4,087,561 and 4,088,793, are concerned with various aspects of the control of nitrosamine production in nitrite-cured meats, particularly bacon.
As a result of the concern over the possible health hazards associated with nitrite, there has been considerable effort to either eliminate nitrite from cured meats, or to reduce its level of addition, in the hope of reducing the potential for nitrosamine formation. The invention described below presents an alternative to the use of nitrite in curing meats.